One of the best perks of staying on-site at a Walt Disney World hotel is Early Entry. Every single day, all four WDW theme parks open 30 minutes before their listed daily hours so that on-site guests have extra time to enjoy rides. We recommend utilizing these, as waiting until late morning to arrive at a park can really clog up the dreaded wait times. But we recognize that getting up with the sun isn’t for everyone, myself included, so we’ve come up with three different plans for Early Entry that are dependent on when you arrive at the parks. In this post, we’ll break down those strategies for Magic Kingdom.

For the Early Entry uninitiated, here’s a quick rundown of what it is. As an on-site hotel benefit, guests staying at any of the hotels on this list are able to enter the four Walt Disney World theme parks half an hour before the scheduled park time. For instance, Magic Kingdom generally opens at either 8 or 9 so guests staying at those hotels can enter the park at 7:30 or 8:30. Guests staying elsewhere will be held at certain spots in the park, not being able to access rides until the opening time. In case you missed it, we’ve already given our strategies for Early Entry at Hollywood Studios, Epcot and Animal Kingdom.

Magic Kingdom has more attractions than any other Walt Disney World park which means it has the most attractions open for Early Entry. Unfortunately, the two newest rides at the park aren’t included in the extra half hour for now. Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and Tron Lightcycle Run open during regular park hours. That doesn’t prevent guests from lining up for them during Early Entry. In fact, the majority of guests do just that. Not to spoil our strategies, but we don’t recommend this. Guests might say they only had to wait 10 minutes for the attraction going this route but in actuality they’re waiting an extra half hour plus however early they got to the park. Instead we’ll recommend actually getting on rides! Frontierland, Liberty Square and Adventureland are also closed during Early Entry.

With all of the attractions at Magic Kingdom, Early Entry is useful but not our favorite experience. If the park opens at 8 AM (so a 7:30 Early Entry) then the experience is far productive and enjoyable. A 9 AM opening leads to a much busier park and less efficient touring strategy. The difference an hour makes is pretty wild. 7:30 AM Early Entries can be serene. I wouldn’t quite describe 8:30 as a scene out of the Hunger Games but tensions do run high. Either way, Early Entry is beneficial to guests but the experiences are quite different.

Because I refuse to make anything simple, this post has 3 strategies for Early Entry. One is for those that show up to the park gates in advance (let’s say 30 minutes or an hour ahead) of Early Entry starting, the second is for guests who show up right on time and the third is for guests who fell asleep in the shower and arrived to the gates 15 minutes into Early Entry. I empathize with you, shower sleeper, and am here to help.

The Early Riser

Your reward for getting to Magic Kingdom before most everyone is a peaceful stroll down Main Street! There’s time for a few photos but get in line at the Fantasyland bridge (to the right of the castle) quickly. Once Early Entry begins, guests are walked over to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, where you’ll start the day. Guard your ankles, the walk to this family coaster isn’t an enjoyable one. But arriving so early should get you on and off the attraction within 20 minutes. That’s the goal!

If you’re off Seven Dwarfs Mine Train before Early Entry ends then hustle over to Peter Pan’s Flight to beat the secondary rope drop crowd. Accomplishing both of Fantasyland’s most popular rides during Early Entry will make the day much easier. A few hours later, both of these attractions will have waits that will be over an hour. This strategy means that you’ll likely save Tiana’s Bayou Adventure and Tron for the evening, although it’s very possible to catch one of them during a mid-morning lull.

The Right On Timers

This is the hardest option to judge for Magic Kingdom’s Early Entry. At this point, the queue for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train queue will be backed up and take all of the extra half hour unless you’re there on a low crowd day. That’s an okay option, especially if you don’t plan to stay at the park through the evening. Note that if the Early Entry is 7:30 instead of 8:30, then I’d probably recommend Mine Train. For the 8:30 start times, we have an alternative.

Getting two popular attractions done before the actual posted park opening is the best touring strategy. To do that, we’ll go to Space Mountain before crossing into Fantasyland to ride Peter Pan’s Flight. This does include quite a bit of walking, but if you’re off of Space Mountain by 8:45 (or 7:45 when applicable) then it shouldn’t be much of a problem. When the wait times of these attraction balloon to an hour+ by late morning, let the satisfaction wash over you. It feels much better than the sweat from the hot Florida sun.

The Snoozers/Coffee Drinkers (Shower Sleepers?)

Things didn’t go to plan but you’re still here! Making it to Magic Kingdom before actual park opening is still an accomplishment, especially if you had All Star Resort bus transportation standing in your way. If there’s still a few minutes of Early Entry to salvage, the answer is simple. Hang a right into Tomorrowland and go ride Space Mountain. The attraction should have almost no wait and you’ll be back outside, ready to tackle the rest of the day’s attractions before long.

If traveling with youngsters, then Peter Pan’s Flight is a decent alternative to Space Mountain. There’s a chance that the queue has already backed up at this point but, on most days, you should be in the clear for a wait under 20 minutes. Posted wait times could be wrong. If the line is spilling out of the interactive queue then it’s a longer wait. Getting one of these attractions done will salvage Early Entry before you go tackle some of the headliners on the left side of the park like Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Tiana’s and Haunted Mansion.

Final Thoughts

Magic Kingdom’s Early Entry can be a frustrating experience but it’s likely worth your time. Using the half hour to ride attractions instead of lining up for those that don’t open until later is the way to go. Even if you break from our strategy and ride other attractions, you’re still ahead of the normal itinerary.

What is your Early Entry process at Magic Kingdom? Let us know, along with any questions you might have, in the comments below! If you are planning a trip to Disney World, then check out our planning guide. This site has discount tickets to Walt Disney World. If you enjoy what you are reading here on Wandering in Disney please share this post with your friends, as well as like our social media pages. You can also subscribe to the blog via WordPress or email. You can do all of that on the right side of this page. Thank you for reading, we really appreciate it!